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Thaddicus Gapperwind
Thaddicus is a retired sailor and barkeep in the tavern called the Grinning Banshee in a small cove on Rakultfreth. Backstory Thaddicus was a traveling sailor working on many ships in his younger years. He was obsessed finding riches in sea life, especially with a tale of "Grogtongue's Trove", a dragon's treasure hord said to hold riches from all around the world, but which the lair had never been found and the riches left unclaimed. He eventually found his way to Rakulfreth and the cove port near the Rovanian territory and the Grinning Banshee. He fell in love with the owner's daughter, Jesslia, and sought to marry her and put sailing behind him for good. The tavern owner of the Banshee however asked for a fortune for the right to his daughter's hand, and Thaddicus being a poor young sailor had naught but empty pockets to show for his love. Thaddicus struck a bargain with the tavern owner, agreeing to manage and work his tavern until his debt would be paid, all the while being allowed to take his beloved Jesslia as wife. Her father agreed and they were wed, and within a year she was with child, this pleased her parents as it assured that Thaddicus would stay behind and continue to work for them. However, when the time came for the baby to be born Jesslia grew ill, and she and the child were killed in labor. Thaddicus, still indebted to the now childless tavern owners, now remains at the Banshee unsure if he'll ever be pardoned to leave the cove or continue his search for Grogtongue's Trove. SPOILERS: For Dungeon Masters' Eyes only: Thaddicus is secretly the adult bronze dragon "Grogtongue" using the Change Shape feature to turn himself into a human. His secret treasure is not of gold and gems, but of the finest wines, ales, and spirits from across the world. He lost the location of his trove after teleporting it on a drunken night, and only has vague hints about where it could be. After losing his treasure he searched far and wide for the missing trove, eventually turning into a human to search as a sailor to avoid attention. In his life as a sailor he met and married Jesslia, taking the bargain from her father to work their tavern until her dowry was paid for. Jesslia's child ended up killing her in labor, and the child's body was deformed with pathes of bleeding scales and gnarly wings sprouting from the back. The midwives feared the child's form to be a demon, and they had the body tossed into the sea to be rid of it. Thaddicus never saw his child's body, and never knew how deformed it was. However, many of the locals in the cove now treat Thaddicus with great suspicion, thinking him some warlock that has come to bring curses down upon them. Despite the hostilities, Thad attempts to perform the best he can, but with the loss of his wife and the tavern owner's daughter, and the reputation he's garnered the tavern's business has started to drop and at this rate Thad's debt might never be paid. Category:NPCs